DENVER — Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said on Monday he's running for president, casting himself as a can-do uniter who is used to overcoming adversity and accomplishing liberal goals in a politically divided state.

"I'm running for president because we need dreamers in Washington, but we also need to get things done," Hickenlooper, 66, said in a video announcing his campaign. "I've proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver."

He becomes the second governor to enter the sprawling field, after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week, and is trying to cast himself as a pragmatist who can also take on President Donald Trump. Though as governor Hickenlooper prided himself for staying above partisan fights, he has argued his record as a former governor and big-city mayor distinguishes him from a broad field of Democratic presidential aspirants who are backing ambitious liberal plans on health care, taxes and the climate.

Hickenlooper has hedged on supporting Democratic rallying cries like "Medicare for All" and the Green New Deal to combat climate change. He once worked as a geologist for a petroleum company and was roundly criticized for telling a congressional panel he drank fracking fluid while arguing for the safety of the energy extraction technique.

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Former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper puts on a name tag as he walks into the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro talks to people before speaking at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro talks to people before speaking at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

California Sen. Kamala Harris takes one last look at her notes before speaking at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

California Sen. Kamala Harris and former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper talk before they both speak at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro greats people after his speech at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

The name tag of former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper is stuck to a cup as he speaks during the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

People listen as former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro speaks during the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro talks to people before speaking at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

California Sen. Kamala Harris and former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper, far left, recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro greats people after his speech at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro talks to people before speaking at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro talks to people before speaking at the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

People listen as former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro speaks during the Story County Democrats: Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 in Ames. Brian Powers/The Register

It was after Hickenlooper was laid off from his geologist position during the energy bust of the 1980s that he inadvertently started on his road to politics. He opened a brewpub in a then-desolate stretch of downtown Denver that unexpectedly took off. That enabled Hickenlooper to become wealthy by building a mini-empire of restaurants and bars. It also led to him making a quixotic run for Denver mayor in 1993. Campaign ads featured Hickenlooper feeding quarters into parking meters to protest the city's charging for Sunday parking downtown. He won handily.

As mayor, Hickenlooper helped persuade dozens of suburban cities, sometimes led by Republicans, to back a tax hike to fund a light-rail network. He was filmed diving out of an airplane to advocate for a statewide ballot measure to suspend an anti-tax measure passed in the 1990s and allow the state budget to grow. When he ran for governor in 2010, he featured an ad of himself fully dressed, walking into a shower to scrub off negative attacks.

It's all part of Hickenlooper's quirky political image — he vows not to run attack ads and has frequently made fun of his tendency to misspeak and wander off political message.

Hickenlooper will travel to Iowa the day after launching his presidential campaign in his home state. Here's his schedule of events:

Hickenlooper is expected to focus heavily on Iowa, where many Coloradans come from and a state where his low-key, genial approach could be potent. In previous trips he's emphasized his record and how he can bring warring parties together. During a January swing he stopped by a Des Moines brewpub where a customer asked him how he'd win the primary of "who hates Trump the most?"

Hickenlooper responded by rattling off his governing accomplishments.

"Everyone yells at Trump, he will win," Hickenlooper said. "You have to laugh at him and joke along and say: 'Hey, this is what I did.'"

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